Device for teaching music.



M. S. WHITMAN. DEVICE FOR TEACHING MUSIC.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.17. 1908.

VWT/VESSES NORRIS PETERS c M. S. WHITMAN. DEVICE FOR TEACHING MUSIC.APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1908.

964,593, Patented July 19, 1910.

2 BHEETS-SHEET Z.

THE nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVIATILDA SOPHIA WHITMAN, OF ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA.

DEVICE FOR TEACHING MUSIC.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MA'rILoA S. WHIT- MAN, a subject of His Majesty KingEdward VII, in the right of his Dominion of Canada, residing at St.John, county of St. John, Province of New Brunswick, Canada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for TeachingMusic, of which the following is a speci fication.

This invention relates to the teaching of music and particularly to suchteaching for very young children in music kindergartens or primarygrades of sight singing in public schools, and also for blind children.

My invention relates more particularly to the preliminary teaching ofthe scale form of tone distance without the mental confusion of staffnotation or the use of other musical symbols. In other words, itinvolves the presentation of the idea of tone intervals fundamentally bya means which does not dominate, in memory, the form which it representsto secure a visual or sensible memorization of the fundamental scaleforms entirely apart from any written musical notations.

One of the most diflicult things in music to present to the immaturemind is the interval between the tones of the scale. In order to presentthis idea in a form capable of being grasped and retained by a child,and also capable of being perceived and comprehended by the blind, Ihave devised my present invention which also affords a means ofpresenting various other features of music in such a way as to impressnot only the blind, but the seeing child.

To this end I have devised my present invention in which I present priorto any teaching or knowledge of any musical symbols whatever theintervals of the scales. This I do by means of spaces discernible bysight or touch which spaces are of distances corresponding to thedegrees of variation between succeeding tones in any scale. In thepresentation of these spaces I preferably follow an ascending anddescending form. This, of course, corresponds with notation and to thatextent is also an advantage in that it makes the study of notationsimply a logical development of my system. In the same way theemployment of a rounded marker is of advantage in that it lays a properpsychological foundation for future Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 17, 1908.

Patented July 19, 1910.

Serial No. 463,080.

knowledge of notation and proper association between tone and notesymbol. It is necessary, however, to bear in mind the fact that whilethe elements of my system bear a similarity to the notation system theyare nevertheless absolutely independent and perfectly capable ofcomprehension without the slightest knowledge of notation. At the sametime the employment of these markers introduced in this preliminarymanner and capable of being appreciated through sight or touch or bothgives to the knowledge of tone distances a promptness which will not bethereafter confused by a knowledge of notation.

The construction and method of using my invention will be more fully setforth in the specification which follows. In this specification I havediscussed an embodiment of my invention which I find best adapted to thepresent methods of instruction. This embodiment I have shown in theaccompanying drawings as a disclosure of the particular embodiment of myinvention which I have described and as illustrative of my inventionitself.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view of my board with disks appliedforming a chromatic scale. Fig. 2, a transverse section of the board anda rolling support for the same, Fig. 3, a view of a board with major andminor scales in indicated color, Fig. i, a view of major scale withpitch name, Fig. 5 is a detail of a unit strip and a disk, Fig. 6 is asection of the same, Fig. 7, a view of my board with scale, with staff,and ledger lines in treble cleft, Fig. 8, a similar arrangement for thebass cleft, Fig. 9 is a view of a scale with piano key blocks, and Fig.10 is a view of a set of piano key blocks hung on my board.

1 are a plurality of narrow strips flexibly joined together by a cord orthong 2 and having a suitable support, such as the case 3.

i are a plurality of notches in the board on the upper edge of thestrips 1, there being preferably six of these notches as I find thatnumber sufiicient for ordinary use. These notches 41- are particularlyadapted to accommodate the blind, although they are of advantage to anysmall child in properly locating the disks.

5 are arbitrary markers shown in the form of disks, which form ispreferred, and having supporting hooks G. In my system or method ofteaching it is important that these markers be arbitrary and that theyremain wholly independent of any note, note form or note character whichis to be employed after the pupil has completed the preliminary stageand has mastered the fundamental scale forms of tone distance. There maybe substituted for these markers for later stages of teaching such noteforms as are shown in Fig. 7. The circular disks may be differentiatedby color as indicated in Fig. 3 for small children and I find this ofconsiderable advantage in the teaching of the scale, especially in thememorization of tones and half tones. In Fig. 3 of the drawings, majorand minor scales are indicated as colored. By differentiating the disksor markers I am enabled to make it apparent either in the chromatic ordiatonic scale just which tones are represented.

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that there is formed by the sensiblelocation of the disks on the board a chromatic scale. This scale isconvertible by the moving or removing of the five chromatics into thediatonic major or minor mode, as shown in Fig. 8. The five chromaticsmay be restored in the modes shown in Fig. 3, the arrangement of theminor mode having been first restored to major. In other words, in Figs.8 and 4, from which the chromatics have been omitted, it would readilyappear just which of the semitones are used and just which of thechromatics are omitted. In such an arrangement as the chromatic scale,shown in Fig. 1, if differentiated by color the chromatics would bereadily discernible from the rest of the tones there indicated bymarkers.

In using my device the board is unrolled and suspended on the wall. Aswill be seen, there are 13 notched edges upon which markers may be hung.These constitute, therefore, equally spaced positions for the twelvesuccessive chromatic tones of the oc tave, together with the first toneof the next succeeding octave. The pupils, individually or collectively,apply the disks of proper color if they be so differentiated and theyare preferably differentiated to the proper edges of the slats and thusform the chromatic scale shown in Fig. 1. As the markers are applied thetone is preferably associated with the particular marker and withtheparticular location either by having the pupil or the teacher sing thenote or by having the note struck on the piano. After the chromaticscale has been thus learned and the pupil has become familiar with themarker and the relative positions of the elements of the chromaticscale, the diatonic scales are indicated by the removal of the properchromatics of the particular scale to be learned. The pupil, therefore,becomes familiar not only with each marker and each location but alsowith the relative positions of the markers as located in any scale. Whenthese fundamental and elementary form members have been thoroughlymastered the notational names may be added to the use of the markers andthe pupil may thus gradually be led from the absolute and fundamentalknowledge of tone and tone distances and scale to the elementary partsof notational work and to the corresponding relations of musicalsymbols.

7 are staff and ledger lines which are formed as strips of woodsupported by hooks 6 at each end so that they will be distinguished at aglance to seeing children. These hooks are not shown in the drawings butare the same as those used with the disk symbols in Figs. 5 and 6. Tothe blind dependence is placed on the projection of the strip 7 abovethe surface of the strips 1. I also provide with each outfit treblecleffs 8, bass cleffs 9, sharps 10, and the various other musical signs,and I also provide a set of raised or fretted letters 11 to be appliedas the pitch name for the disks or notes when arranged on the board as ascale or otherwise.

In order to give to a pupil an understanding of the piano key board atthe same time that the scale is being thus studied I have provided mykey blocks adapted to be hung also upon the board with the other devicesabove mentioned. These blocks are made in the usual white keys 12 andblack keys 13. In Fig. 10 I have shown a set hung on as indicating acorresponding portion of a piano key board while in Fig. 9 I have shownthe black keys 13 removed except that corresponding to B fiat whichoccurs in the scale of F which is indicated by the disks 5 and named bythe letters 11. In this manner the tone intervals are directlyassociated with the key board and impressed upon the pupil without theconfusing presence of unrelated parts.

In using my device the board is unrolled and suspended before the pupilswho hang upon it the various disks before described to produce thescale, properly separated and accompanied by the name letters or otherdevices. To construct a staff the ledger strips 7 are used and with themmay be arranged notes and other devices to form a musical notation. Allthis is done under the direction and supervision of the teacher who maythus bring the child to assemble the pieces under either the sense oftouch or sight, or both.

The apparatus is, of course, capable of use in varied methods ofteaching, being readily adaptable to the condition of the pupil.

that I, therefore, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising thirteen uniform slatshaving similar notches upon their upper edges and flexibly connectededge to edge, a plurality of arbitrary markers differentiated by color,and a notch engaging suspending hook on each marker.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a plurality of uniformslats having similar notches upon their upper edges and flexiblyconnected edge to edge, a plurality of arbitrary, sensiblydifferentiated markers and a notch engaging suspending hook on eachmarker.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a plurality of uniformslats having similar notches upon their upper edges and connected edgeto edge, a plurality .of

arbitrary differentiated markers and notch engaging suspending means oneach marker.

4:. An apparatus of the class described comprising a plurality ofuniform slats flexibly connected together edge to edge, a plurality ofarbitrary markers and suspending means for engaging the edges of saidslats on each marker.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

MATILDA SOPHIA lVHITMAN.

lVitnesses:

FLORENCE V. STOUT, BERTHA E. MoAnoo.

